Karaoke Forums

I just watched parts of a bunch of Karaoke videos on AOL uncut video and I'm beginning to think that there is no way I can be a KJ. Most of the singers are terrible. I don't think I can handle it. I have tremendous respect for those of you who do this and especially those that have been doing it for a long time, I really don't know how you do it? I think I need to revise my business cards and my future plans...

You just have to learn to embrace it.  They usually make me smile inside.  It was only a few years ago when I sang my first song.  I didn't suck, but certainly wasn't good.

The bright side is almost everyone gets better.  They are usually your best tippers, and are usually very nice.  In my years, I have only come acroos a few people, who after singing for a while, never got better.  Make them a regular, so eventually you will have another regular who sings at least alright, if not great.

Felix the KJ

I appreciate what you're saying and in fact I have seen it and I always complement someone who has improved, but I found myself watching the videos and cringing and I realized that I may not be able to handle listening to bad singing song after song, night after night. I have had songs totally ruined for me after hearing them sung badly at Karaoke. I know I'm being very critical, but that just makes me realize that I probably don't have the temperament to be able to deal with hosting Karaoke. I liked the idea, but I'm beginning to think that I may not be able to handle it. Life is too short...

Stogie

I don't know why I enjoy karaoke, both singing and listening, other than to believe it is because its an opportunity for people to have fun while sharing an experience.  Rarely, in my life, have I ever gone out to a movie by myself.  I always felt like I wanted to share the experience with someone else, particularly if everyone in the place was laughing.  Mostly, though, I wanted to discuss it with someone else when it was all over, even if to share whether or not it was an enjoyable experience.  And my mother can't see a good movie without calling me to tell me about it and how I must make sure not to miss it.

I don't know if anyone gets my drift?  I've never chosen which karaoke show to attend or avoid based upon the quality of the singers.  I made my choice based upon where I thought I'd have the best time.

A KJ's job is to make sure people have a good time --- good singers, mediocre singers, poor singers, terrible singers along with their friends and the rest of the audience.  And when you can provide that for people, it's an incomparable feeling to be a KJ.

I referred recently, on at least two occassions, about a private party we had done.  Well, ironically, it was at community my ex-in-laws used to live.  Friday night we had a family gathering at my son's honoring his promotion to Lt in the Fire Dept.  I mentioned to my ex-in-laws that we had done a party at their old club house.  My ex-mother-in-law said, "that was you?  We had been invited and some of our friends are still talking about what a great time they had, had!"

Stogie, it's worth it!

I enjoy singing and I enjoy listening when there is a good singer, I just don't enjoy the bad singers and the ratio of bad to good seems to be about 50 to 1 or more.

At the place I go to regularly there are a couple of really bad singers and I literal have to walk outside when they sing, it really bothers me. I think it's beginning to bother me more and more. Maybe I'm just in a mood?

I need to give this some serious thought. I was getting ready to go around town and see if I could get some weekly Karaoke hosting gigs and I'm REALLY wondering if I want to do that anymore.

You know - to me I don't care about good singers or bad singers.  In fact - I often find the "local Diva's" to be the hardest people to deal with.

As long as people are having fun, then who cares?

I like that story. I did a party for my parents, who are in their 70s. My Dad's best friend came up to me near the end and said, "I was groaning. I thougt it was going to be terrible. I came to the party only because your Dad was giving it, to support him. But this has been great -- some of these people haven't had this much fun in 10 years!"

I have musician friends drop in occasionally. They usually shake their heads and say things like "How can you possibly stand to do this?"

I KJ because I enjoy it. I don't have to. But it does take a certain patience and mindset at times.

I originally wasn't going to do this on a continuing basis. But here I am still at it, and here's a few reasons why:

1. Exposure to new music.
2. Has pushed me to sing things I would have never considered in a band.
3. Made friends with and connected with people I wouldn't have any other way.
4. Frankly it's the most successful bar job I've had in years. I get lots of positive feedback. When people tell you that you are doing a great job it makes you keep doing it.

Karaoke isn't supposed to be about making sure the singers are good, it's about making sure they have fun!  As a host this is your goal.  If a bad singer is going to bother you that much, then hosting is not for you.......You can't walk out on your bad singers as a host & you can't not let them sing - well I guess you could, but you wouldn't have much of a job then as no one would be coming.

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Now this is my personal preference, but I like to start a show with a good singer and then a bad singer.  It's great for everyone's morale.

Good singer appreciates being the first up to sing, I make a little thing of them and make them feel like they are "kicking us off" - they love it, cos they feel like a Diva.

Then for the 2nd singer I usually pick someone who's not so great, but with a bunch of their mates who will cheer them on, and who has personality.  I anounce that "Now we have had ur warmup act to get you all going, here's ..."

They then feel like they are better than they really are - nice for them.  The croud who doesn't know them shares the unspoken giggle.  Newcomers realise it's not about being the best.  And their friends have a little cheer for them too.

Everyone feels part of the show.  I see no harm in having a little (LITTLE) giggle with (WITH) the poorer singers - but never AT them.  Make them feel as important as the divas.  It makes them feel better, it serves as an unspoken note to possible snobs to not go there, but encompasses the room as a whole.

I'm a big fan of supporting the underdog.  Why?  Cos I used to be a dire singer, couldn't hold a tune and had no personality.  But the more I got into it, the more I enjoyed it, became quite a good singer now (not by my own admission) and got buckets of personality.

Karaoke is a party.  As a KJ you are the MC.  It isn't about who sings good or bad or whatever.  It's about people having a good time, rockin' and rollin' and yee hawing, and dancing, and drinking and tipping, and flirting and thinking you're cool because you're the karaoke guy.  

Don't let bad singers steal the show.  I had one girl on Saturday night who would have got a ticket to Hollywood if she'd been trying out for American Idol.  She was awesome, she made all the bad singers worth it.

Kind of like when you haven't been in a relationship for a long while and you start to get lonely and depressed, then this one girl comes along and makes you forget it all instantly.  Some are good some are bad, but without the bad the good wouldn't be.

It is interesting that some things that would completely throw me off, would not throw someone else off on a song.  I've had cases where I've fallen out of synch on a song, or maybe started off in the wrong key by accident, and not recovered during the song.  Like awhile back I sang as Time Goes By.  I started off on the wrong key. I frantically hunted up and down scale to find the right key. I think I finally found it with about a minute left in the song, but it sure must have sounded pretty strange to anyone who was 1)sober and 2) still listening!  On the other had, I know people who typically start off on the wrong beat, who might start out often out of key, and one might not call these people good singers, yet they have an unusual ability to catch back up with the song--they might still be singing out of key, but all of a sudden they are right back on beat.  You're thinking "man, this song is going to be a train wreck", and all of a sudden the train is back on the tracks and cruising!  I think this is a skill in itself.  For many of us, karaoke was really difficult the first time we tried it.  How many times did someone tell me "You've got to sing with the music, if you're looking at the words it will mess you up [like it just did]!"  After a few years of singing, you take for granted your improvement when acutally it took alot of muff-ups to get there.  They say you never forget to ride a bike.  I wonder if you can forget how to sing karaoke?


Yes, and thanks to the KJ's that have the patience to put up with us all.  You will be greatly rewarded (if not now, in the hereafter )

You make a good point. The KJs deserve recognition for having to listen to so much bad singeing night after night. Heck, they deserve a freakin medal or some sort of statue should be erected to honor their patience and quiet suffering. I'm beginning to understand why so many KJs are such jerks. Listening to so much bad singing has damaged their psyche.

It's very funny but after all these years, I really don't even make note of the bad singers. It's just a matter of it's your 4 minutes. Enjoy it. I DO, however, know KJs who should be out of the business...a long time ago...Can't take it all too seriously. Like a cold drink on a hot day - out of the haze comes a great singer who chooses a great song...and it's a great four minutes. I don't know - thick skin maybe?

What is worse to me, than a bad singer, is bad attitude - someone who thinks they are great and who emanate a snootiness, and really have nothing to brag about. Now THOSE singers, I immediately want to knock down a notch or two.

k

Stogie -- really... 50 bad singers to 1 good one???

Try to bring the expectation down a notch. They're not pros. Many of them think they need several drinks before they can sing.

It's just fun. In my experience, it literally is the other way 'round. My ratio is about 50 "good enough or great" singers to 1 nails-on-a-chalkboard singer -- the one where everyone goes out for a smoke. And yes, the great ones are a breath of fresh air.  :)

I agree with the sentiment that the KJ being there to help folks just have a good time. Karaoke is not a jukebox.

Snooty singers:

Before I became a KJ I used to go to a pub at the end of my street.  It was a nothing place, a few students, that's all.  One Wednesday I went to play pool and they had Karaoke.  We stayed for a few and had a laugh - it became a regular thing.  A small crowd but a good crowd - good singers, bad singers but a really nice atmosphere.  Not a "Karaoke" atmosphere really, a lot more chat, but still nice.

One time a very slim, quite pretty hispanic girl came in.  Decided to sing "Alice Cooper - Poison" - weird choice, but hey.  So she started, and it was just shreiking, it was terrible.  She was also writing around like some sort of cat with an anal infection.  So people are carrying on their conversations, and she shouts "STOP TALKING - I am singing"...

Whoah, did she get boo'd out of the pub!

Being a good KJ has nothing to do with the quality of singers --But a karaoke show with a following of HORRIBLE singers is not....Good.

I have more regular non singers at my bar on Saturdays than singers.  Most of the time the singers are Good to Better than Average and on occasion you get the drunk or group of drunks who are out just having a GREAT time.  ALL these are great karaoke customers.   The ONE singer I could do without is the one who comes in and THINKS they can sing.  They sing OFF gender songs and SCREECH and YELL rather than sing.  It is HARD to sit and listen and I hvae had on occasion witnessed people actually leave and go to the bar across the street ( with no karaoke).  

As a KJ I could care less ..But I try and look at the overall picture as what is good for the BAR ....not just the singers.  My job 1st and foremost is provide KARAOKE services for the better of the overall profit of the bar...if that singer is driving people across the street  :(  :(  :(  :(

I compare it to when my chidren were little. You learn to tune out the noise.  LMAO
I'm lucky to have a lot of good singers, but I also have a lot of people who sing the same songs every night no matter how hard I try to get them to try new material. Through the yrs I've managed to unknowingly learn to tune it out.

Being a KJ isn't for everyone. I think a lot of people think it is all fun and partying. It's a job. In every job you have to do things you don't want. You way the good against the bad and determine if it's still for you.

I have a good friend who got me started being a KJ and he trained his son to take over for him because he was burnt out. His son lasted 6 months and quit. I saw him the other night and he asked me how in the world I could be a KJ for so long. He couldn't stand dealing with the people. A big part of being a KJ is knowing how to deal with all the different personalities of people you'll deal with. I'd say that is the biggest challenge. Listening to bad singers or the same songs over and over is just a small part of it.

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I think Babs hit it on he head- Not everyone is cut out to be a KJ. There is a special talent it takes to entertain. Just like not everyone can be a wedding DJ and get a party moving. I have my fair share of both good, and not so good singers.  The sub-par regulars I try to help. I suggest songs that might suit their voice better. My best example is this one lady on Friday nite. She LOVES singing, and her and her boyfriend spend a lot of money there. The Bartender/Manager hated her singing. They even told me to tel her the disc was broken on her favorite song just so she wouldn't sing it. Instead, I started suggesting 2-3 new songs a night- I switched her from "You're so Vain" to "It only takes a minute", and from "1-2-3" to "I Think I love you". She has a very high pitchy voice, and those songs (also 5th dimension) suit her much better. She still is not very good, but now she is palatable, and the Bartender doesn't want her thrown out anymore.

We, as KJ's, are considered more of an authority than we know sometimes. Small suggestions cn make the difference between a good and a bad singer over time. If we think back, there probably was a KJ that helped us get on tune.

So to Stogie, maybe you are not cut out to be a KJ. Not everyone is. However, maybe think positively, and talk to the person you thought was aweful, and ask if thats all they sing, what type of music they like, etc. Maybe you can make a suggestion that will make them sound better just because it is easier. If you are a good singer yourself, which I have no reason to doubt, then you can probably recognize train wreck selections.

Just my  :2cents:

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This is absolutely the truth. Many singers have come and asked me privately if there are songs I think they should do...not all, of course, because some are too proud or vain to do that, but all you have to do is find the correct song or 3 for a person and they will forever become a loyal follower. I really enjoy doing that - thinking on a particular voice and songs that may be good for them. I've even made up CDs for people of songs I think they might be good at.

I agree, not all are cut out to be KJs...but I don't think you should assume the negative before you give it a try. I wouldn't invest thousands if there is a hint of doubt in your mind...maybe host for someone else and see?

I've hosted for a lot of years...I get burned out, I stop for a while, and I miss it right away. Hard to do a full time day job and host more than about 3 weekday nights...and even though I may be exhausted when I come in to start, there is a high that comes with singing and being around music that usually takes care of that. When it doesn't anymore, then it'll be time to pack it up.

k